Wedding Photography: Should You Invest?

Weddings, as you can probably imagine can be pretty expensive.  Even with the strongest will in the world it's easy to see how a budget can spiral out of control.  Your wedding day is one of the most important days of your life and you want it to be perfect.  Lets be realistic though, things are never going to be perfect, there's always something that will go wrong and as long as it's nothing too major, when it comes to the big day you won't even notice, or care!!

I loved every aspect of our wedding but one of the most important things to me was that we all had a good time.  Lets face it my guests wont really care whether the flowers co-ordinate with the bridesmaids dresses, how many hours I spent decorating jars or if my tiara had the right amount of sparkle. They care about watching two people they're pretty fond of making that commitment to each other. Secondly they care about what the food's like and how much alcohol is on the table and thirdly they want to have some fun!  Don't forget your guests are spending 8 hours of their time helping you celebrate. I often hear people saying 'it's your day, have it the way you want it' and to a certain extent I agree but remember it's not just about you! Your guests need to have a good time too.

The next most important thing to me is wedding photography.  If you only spend your money on one thing please, please, please choose a good photographer.  I've lost count of the times I've heard people say they're not too fussed about a photographer, or 'a family member's offered to take them for free'. If that's the case at the very least check out their work first. Just because someone has a dslr doesn't mean they know how to use it!  Can they take photos without chopping peoples heads off or giving them evil red eye? Do they know how to compose a photo, make sure it's in focus and avoid random strangers or fire exit signs in the background?  These are things you wont even notice on the day but you'll spot them as soon as you look at your photos.

Your wedding day is one of the most important days of your life.  You spend days, weeks, months even years planning it.  Do you think you'll be able to remember every minute of your day? You wont trust me, it goes by in a blink of an eye.  Think you'll be able to remember all of it after 20 years? Not a chance!  Sure you'll be able to remember some aspects but not from start to finish.  Having a decent, professional photographer capturing your day means nothing will be missed.

My husband wasn't too keen on spending a lot of money on a decent photographer, he thought the money would be better spent elsewhere but it was the only thing I put my foot down about.  In fact, I will openly admit he unleashed a bridezilla demon bride-to-be that I didn't know existed.  I may have even whispered the words "If we don't have a decent wedding photographer then there will be no wedding".  Yep, like I said, a total bridezilla on the subject.  Eight weeks after we got married and sat down to look at our photos James will openly admit it was the best thing we did.  They don't just capture you, they capture your friends and family and all the things you didn't see because you were so busy talking to everyone.  They capture a special day that will never happen again.  Looking at your photos helps bring back the memories and re-live that experience in a small way.

 

I'd like to credit these photos to Steve Bridgwood Photography and thank him for being such a massive part of our day.  When he went home that night, after an eleven hour shift, his work wasn't done.  He had hours of checking through hundreds of photos, finding the best ones and editing them. Wedding photographers really don't get enough credit for all their hard work on the day and after.  

So if you unsure whether to spend a large amount of your wedding budget on a decent wedding photographer, ask yourself this.  In ten years time what will your flower arrangements look like? How many times will you have worn your wedding dress? Was that 20 minute journey in a classic car that memorable? What I'm trying to say is your wedding photos will last lifetime.  They're all you have left of your special day, apart from each other I hope.

Working From Home

What do I love about being freelance? I can work from home.

What do I hate about being freelance? I can work from home!

Yep, picking and choosing your hours and where you can work from is great, but it can also lead to distractions and there's plenty of those at home!  If you're a freelance you have to be disciplined.

[Img from Dashburst]

On the days I'm working from home I still get up around 7am, just like I would if I was going into the office.  Having a routine helps me get into work mode and I'm usually ready to face the working day by 8:30. However, there's always those little distractions there to tempt you away from your paid work.  Like the washing. Or vacuuming.

Who would have thought household chores could be so inviting!?  I confess, my house is always at it's tidiest when I'm working from home.

So how do I make sure I don't become distracted?  I allow myself to do those little household jobs which also helps to break up the day.  If I don't, I find it hard to concentrate and that's ten times worse.

I'm not the kind of person who can sit in my PJ's knowing there's a wash load which could be on. Or the floor needs mopping.  If I can get those few extra jobs done it helps me focus.

For me, a tidy workspace (or in this case house) means a tidy mind, which equals productivity.  We don't have the luxury of having a home office so I can't just close the door on the rest of the house and pretend I'm at work.

It might sounds a little crazy and probably means I work longer hours, but when you work from home you have to find the best solution that works for you.

Are you a freelance?  Do you work from home?  How do you make sure you stay focused?